In this edition, we cover:
A Message from our Partner: Probaho
To put it simply, Probaho is the Mailchimp of Bangladesh. Don't worry about paying in dollars for sending mails or long-distance support. Use Probaho, use the power of email newsletter to grow your business without hassle, pay in taka. Learn more.
On Building Great Travel Products: Khondoker Mashuk Ibn Mahfuz
Khondoker Mashuk Ibn Mahfuz is the Vice President of Product and Business Intelligence at fast-growing travel-tech startup Go Zayaan where he and his team look after the product development and management and business intelligence efforts.
In this interview, we speak with Mashuk about his work, product management, how Go Zayaan has built some excellent travel-tech products, how product development and management work at Go Zayaan, the science and art of building great products, autodidactism, personal productivity, and much more.
ShopUp Extends Series B Funding Round with $34 Million from Tiger Global and Others
ShopUp, the Dhaka-based full-stack B2B commerce startup digitizing neighborhood shops with an ecosystem of solutions from marketplace to logistics to capital, has closed a $34-million Series B extension round led by Tiger Global Management. The extension takes ShopUp’s total series B investment to $109 million. ShopUp raised its $75 million series B funding round led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and Prosus Ventures just four months ago.
Bangladesh Startup Funding Report 2021
How Chaldal Has Become Bangladesh's Largest Online Egg Seller
Chaldal has been selling eggs since its inception in 2013. It figured that since eggs are a daily necessity for every Bangladeshi household, customers should be able to buy eggs online more easily. This goes well with the company’s core thesis that: people should not have to wait for hours in traffic or queue up to buy necessities like eggs.
Began organically in those early days, today Chaldal is probably the largest seller of eggs online, partly due to rocketing consumer demand for fresh eggs in the coronavirus era, but more importantly because of Chaldal's excellent quality eggs and service.
13 Lessons I Have Learned From 2021
Reality is the best teacher. We learn the best when we fail, make mistakes, stumble, and suffer. The second-best approach to learning is learning from the life experiences and mistakes of others. Moreover, learning from others allows us to save ourselves from making all the mistakes ourselves.
To that end, per our annual tradition, I put together some of the most important lessons I have learned in 2021 from some of the best founders we interviewed in 2021. The lessons cover everything from building companies, personal growth to having a good life.
Green Grocery Raises New Investment, Eyes to Strengthen Supply Chain and Accelerate Growth
Green Grocery, a Dhaka-based direct-to-consumer safe food company that sells chemical-free fresh food products, announced that it has raised a pre-seed investment. The company says it directly sources from farmers, processes in-house, and delivers directly to customers. The company offers a wide range of handpicked products sourced from different parts of the country including varieties of rice, spices, homemade spreads, brewed oils, ghee, pickle, and much more.
Best of Future Startup 2021: 18 Must-Read Founder Interviews
Like every year, this annual reflection is a collection of interviews with some of the most interesting people building companies in Bangladesh and beyond.
These are fascinating interviews. Each interview looks deeper into the companies these founders are building, how these companies operate and are doing as businesses.
Azeem’s 2022 Trends: Web 3.0, Sci-Fi Tech, and the Metaverse. Link
Dismal online class penetration during pandemic (Bangla). [Link]
Book recommendation: I'm enjoying Shail Lavingia's The Minimalist Entrepreneur. Link
AmarLab brings the diagnostic lab to the doorsteps of people in urgent need of medical tests. The company has partnered with reputed diagnostic centers with an ambition to make healthcare easily accessible to everyone, everywhere. Learn more.
Future Startup Content Marketing Service: Tell your compelling brand story. Connect with the most influential audience in business and tech in Bangladesh. Learn more.
